The present invention relates to a conveyor belt cleaner comprising a body with cleaner elements attached side by side to the body, each cleaner element consisting of a blade, a blade holder attached to the body and a torsion spring element located between the blade and the blade holder.
The function of a belt cleaner is to dislodge and remove any material that may remain on a conveyor belt directly after rounding the drum at the discharge end of the conveyor so as to prevent the remnants of material from spreading all over the area under the conveyor. A disadvantage with previously known belt cleaners is the fact the material scraped off from the belt accumulates on the cleaner body, blade arms and torsion springs. In these cleaners, the blades are attached to an arm consisting e.g. of a round bar attached to a torsion spring mounted on the main body, or the blade arm itself may act as a spring, pressing the blade against the belt. Furthermore, the cleaners are generally so constructed that the cleaner blade is located on the trailing side of the body relative to the running direction of the return belt. This solution ensures smooth operation, but it has the drawback that the material removed from the belt accumulates directly on the blade arms, torsion springs and main body, causing malfunctions in the cleaner. In winter time, another problem which arises is that freezing and agglomeration of the material loan render the cleaner inoperable. As a consequence, frequent maintenance operations are required which also cause problems because the servicemen have had to work under the conveyor when replacing or cleaning blades or performing other maintenance operations. In consequence the conveyor must stand idle during the servicing, involving high expenses.